Protein toxins produced by pathogenic vibrios.

Genus Vibrio includes some pathogenic species which are classified into two groups: a gastrointestinal infection group and an extraintestinal infection group. The vibrios produce various toxic proteins. Cholera toxin (CT) produced by V. cholerae O1 and O139 is a factor causing diarrhea with severe dehydration by ADP-ribosylation of the alpha subunit of the GTP-binding protein which stimulates adenylate cyclase activity. CT-like toxins are found in some strains of V. cholerae non-O1 or V. mimicus, but not in V. parahaemolyticus, another major diarrheagenic vibrio species. A thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) is thought to be the pathogenic factor causing diarrhea in the vibrio. Hemolysin is the most widely distributed toxin in the pathogenic vibrios and plays various roles in the infection process. Protease activity is also common in the vibrios. Many of the proteases produced by the vibrios are a metalloprotease having a zinc atom immunologically cross reactive to each other. The proteases act not only for processing and activation of protein toxins but also direct toxic factors causing edematous or hemorrhagic skin lesions or disturbance of host defense system.